1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an improved ticket identification system for a group of tickets of the type which include a front sheet and a rear sheet and means for bonding the front sheet and the rear sheet. The tickets of the group have different classifications and at least some of the tickets have a particular classification of the different classifications to establish an associated value of such tickets. Although the improved ticket identification system has numerous applications, it can, for example, be employed in a system for dispensing of lottery tickets which allows a player to obtain and electronically "play" a lottery ticket of the type which has a plurality of normally closed window areas for hiding play symbols printed on an inside portion thereof. Such tickets can normally be determined to include a winning array of such symbols only upon the opening of the windows to reveal the play symbols thereunder. A dispensing machine of the system includes a plurality of display areas which directly correspond to the window areas of a ticket which has been dispensed and enables a player to electronically "play" the window areas to cause the play symbols thereunder to be seen in the respective display area of the machine without physically opening the normally closed windows of the lottery ticket. More specifically, the improved ticket identification system of the present invention may not require the tickets to be stored in and dispensed from a machine and could be in many forms not limited to lottery tickets of the "pull-tab" type.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art.
Nevertheless, it is appropriate to first discuss "pull-tab" lottery tickets in order to best understand some of the security and identification problems that may exist with many different types of tickets. Typically, "pull-tab" lottery tickets contain a plurality of windows which are to be opened by the player such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,900,219; 4,033,611; and 4,740,016. The configurations employed to produce the tickets disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,900,219 and 4,033,611 are relatively complicated and have tended to lessen their acceptability as secure, reliable games of chance. The multi-layered configuration of the lottery tickets of U.S. Pat. No. 4,033,611 has been found to be more susceptible to fraudulent alteration or reconstruction. While the lottery ticket of U.S. Pat. No. 3,900,219 includes features that tend to make fraudulent opening or tampering less likely, the use of three layers of different size sheets of paper much more complicated to manufacture and expensive to provide.
These less attractive features have been eliminated in the lottery ticket disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,740,016 which are formed of two sheets of paper material. One problem that could exist with such pull-tab tickets is that a losing ticket, after the windows thereof have been opened by a player, could be relatively easily and fraudulently changed into a winning ticket. Prior to the design disclosed therein, because of the relatively thick, non-transparent paper material forming the sheets, the winning symbols could be removed from a previously honored winning ticket and inserted into a losing ticket. The paper which contained the winning symbols could be removed from the winning ticket by making cuts along the four edges of the window down to the middle level of the paper. Similarly, a losing set of symbols would be removed from the losing ticket. Once the winning symbols have been placed in the losing ticket, it is difficult to detect the alteration.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,740,016 discloses a means for altering the original design of the tickets to help eliminate such fraudulent reconstruction of the tickets. The improved tickets still include the front sheet, the rear sheet, means for bonding the front sheet and the rear sheet together, and a plurality of plurality of symbols on the rear sheet facing the front sheet, which could include a set of winning symbols. However, they further include security indicia on the side of the rear sheet corresponding to the set of winning symbols. Specifically, the security indicia includes a pattern on a portion of the rear sheet that contains the winning symbols which pattern extends beyond the winning window and is partially covered by the front sheet. Another embodiment disclosed therein includes an additional or alternative security indicia in the form of a winning prize code which can also be printed on the rear sheet in a location not related to the winning symbols and not aligned with the windows. In either case, the sheets of the "winning" ticket could be separated to confirm that it is truly a winning ticket.
It is also possible to include other information within a window or tab area of a game coupon to confirm that it is in fact a game winner. The game coupon of U.S. Pat. No. 4,880,964 appears to be intended of a different purpose than the lottery tickets discussed above. Because it is to be used for promotional purposed in retail establishments, it must have means for accurate accounting records and be relatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture to permit mass distribution. Unlike pull-tab lottery tickets, the coupons are made of relatively thin paper material and rely on bar code information beneath a window that must be opened by a customer of the establishment in order to be read by a common retail scanner to determine if the game coupon is a winner.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,253,899 discloses a different type of lottery ticket device and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,118,109 and 5,451,052 disclose very complicated scratch-off games cards but again do not appear to be related to the type of pull-tab lottery tickets discussed above.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,290,033 discloses a gaming machine and game coupons that could be in a form that is similar to the "pull-tab" lottery tickets discussed above. In some prior art machines, the player purchases game coupons from a pull-tab machine by inserting cash or game tokens. Such game coupons themselves are commonly packaged in game coupon sets. Each game coupon set comprises a known total of individual game coupons and a known number of winning game coupons within the total. Individual game coupons usually formed of two sheets: a facing sheet and a backing sheet. Serrated windows or tabs are formed in the facing sheet of the coupon. The backing sheet is imprinted with game symbols or other representations beneath the windows or tabs. To determine whether or not an individual game coupon was a winning coupon, a player peeled back the window or tab to reveal the game symbols. Winning game coupons could be redeemed for cash winnings, game tokens or other prizes with a cashier.
According to U.S. Pat. No. 5,290,033, an important disadvantage of such gaming machines was the significant time and effort being consumed, by both the player and the proprietor of the gaming establishment, in redeeming the winning coupons for cash. During the time it took to cash in a winning coupon, a player could lose interest in the game. Accordingly, the improved gaming machine and game coupons included means for the player to continue playing a game without interruption by the utilization of the winning game coupons at the machine itself to purchase additional game credits. The improved means taught therein includes providing the game symbols and a bar code on the back surface of a single, removed playing portion of a "preferred" game coupon which includes only the single playing portion or window. The single playing portion, after removal from the facing and backing layers of the game coupon by the player, is said to be advantageous because it can be provided such a bar code and is in a single sheet form that can easily be inserted into a game coupon reader, as part of a bill validator, for verification and for issuing game credits. The pull-tab lottery tickets discussed above, which include a plurality of windows or tabs, retain the two layers form and are not considered preferred in U.S. Pat. No. 5,290,033 because of the difficulty of providing any coupon verification device that could accept lottery coupons or tickets that have a plurality of opened windows or tabs extending from the surface thereof. In any case, the bar code of these playing portions of the improved game coupons are said to include ten decimal digits which can be decoded by a standard bar code reader. The information in the bar code appears to be generally limited to the game set or lot number which is identical for all of the game coupons of the set, to a unique coupon identification code that can be recorded to insure that the same coupon is not verified twice and to a prize code indicating the number of prize credits associated with the winning game coupon.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,348,299; 5,377,975; and 5,487,544 disclose a different electronic gaming apparatus that includes yet another form of pull-tab coupon configuration. Rather than individual tickets, the game apparatus includes a primary strip of a suitable substrate in the form of a roll. Indicia is printed in individual strip segments. Upon actuation of the apparatus, a segment of the strip is severed to provide a strip segment or game card and is dispensed. If the indicia on the severed segment corresponds to a winning indicia, the player would win the game and the game card or ticket could be redeemed for winnings. The preferred configuration includes a duplicate copy of each severed segment of the primary strip, containing the same indicia as the primary strip segment, which is maintained on a duplicate strip and stored for purposes of later auditing. This second strip is in roll form that is to be stored within the apparatus.
Although this overall configuration, including a primary strip in roll form and a secondary strip in roll form for retention within the apparatus, may experience limited acceptance in the gaming art, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,348,299; 5,377,975; and 5,487,544 do disclose addition features which are of interest. It appears that the secondary strip of indicia also contains a bar code printed on the back thereof corresponding to the indicia printed on each strip segment of the primary strip that is to be dispensed. The apparatus includes an electronic display and means for reading and storing the information of the bar code so that, as the segment of the strip is dispensed from the apparatus, the results of the play of the dispensed segment is simultaneously displayed on the screen. It should be noted that the segments of the strip are similar to the preferred game coupons of U.S. Pat. No. 5,290,033 having only one window or tab. They appear to include only one play area which is revealed after the segment is separated from the primary strip and dispensed from the apparatus. Accordingly, when the segment of the strip is dispensed, the indicia of the of the entire play area is displayed on the screen.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,290,033; 5,348,299; 5,377,975; and 5,487,544 include interesting pull-tab lottery ticket dispensing machines that employ game coupons or strip segments that include bar code information for the purposes disclosed therein. However, both of these configurations are missing one of the primary features of the type of pull-tab lottery ticket disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,740,016. Many popular pull-tab lottery tickets include the multi-window configuration having a plurality of play areas that enhance the playing enjoyment of the player. With such a pull-tab lottery ticket, the player has several chances to win within the same lottery ticket and, by allowing the separate and selective opening of the plurality of windows or tabs, there is heightened suspense during the play as each window or tab is opened. Such pull-tab lottery tickets having a plurality of windows or tabs are very popular and have experienced wide acceptance among players because each ticket appears to provide multiple opportunities to win.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,677,553 and 4,725,079 disclose instant lottery tickets that include different forms of numerical or bar codes on the surfaces thereof to assist in the verification and validation of winning tickets but are not directed to nor configured for the preferred pull-tab lottery tickets having a plurality of windows as discussed above. In addition to the various dispensing machines discussed above, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,657,750; 4,272,001; and 5,335,822 disclose different machine configurations that have previously been employed to dispense tickets or the like.
Some of the security and identification problems associated with "pull-tab" lottery tickets could be present with other tickets which could utilize bar codes in a manner that would rely on some form of secure means to limit access to such bar codes. Accordingly, there are other ticket configurations that could be used for other purposes and could be distributed and identified in a different manner.